A Fairfax immigration attorney at Johnson & Masumi recently released a blog explaining what the Unlawful Presence Waiver is. The Unlawful Presence Waiver process allows individuals who are lawfully eligible for an immigrant visa who need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for that waiver before departing anywhere in the United States for their immigrant visa interview. Individuals must also obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars, if they accumulated more than 180 days to one year of unlawful presence in the United States.

There is a 3-year and 10-year unlawful presence bar, each containing different requirements for inadmissibility. As a foreign national, you may be inadmissible for 3 years if you accumulated more than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence during a single stay in the U.S and you voluntarily departed before the Department of Homeland Security started expedited removal proceedings before an immigration judge, under certain INA documents. You may be inadmissible for 10 years if you accrued one year of unlawful presence during a single stay in the U.S and voluntarily left or were removed from the U.S under any provision of law.

Under both the 3-year and 10-year inadmissibility period foreign natives are ineligible to receive an immigrant/permanent visa or nonimmigrant/temporary visa to enter the United States. Such foreigners may not adjust their status in the U.S to that of a lawful permanent resident/Green Card holder, or be admitted to the United States at a port of entry. However, if subject to the 3 or 10-year unlawful presence bar, foreign nationalists may receive a visa or be admitted to the U.S if they apply for and receive a waiver of inadmissibility.

Speak to the immigration attorneys at Johnson & Masumi for more information about the Unlawful Presence Waiver and how you can qualify for and begin the process. The firm's experienced attorneys can assist you throughout the process of requirements and procedures for applying for the waiver to ensure you can obtain it. Johnson & Masumi can also help navigate the application process for a range of visas, including employment, refugee, and green card applications. The firm can be contacted at 703-688-8279 or online at https://www.johnsonmasumi.com/. Its offices are located at 8300 Boone Blvd. Suite 225, Vienna, VA 22182.

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